1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to shelters associated with motor vehicles and more particularly to a collapsible and portable lightweight apparatus for providing shelter adjacent to a motor vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
Motorcycle, watercraft, ATV, bicycle and other outdoor sports enthusiasts often require their motor vehicle to become the center of their on-site outdoor activities. In pursuing their activities, there is a need to provide a shelter adjacent their motor vehicle to protect them and/or their equipment from the outdoor elements such as sun and rain.
Others have attempted to solve the problem of providing on-site shelters. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,417,469 discloses an apparatus for attaching an enclosure to the back of a motor vehicle which contains a substantially U-shaped plate, at least two devices for attaching such a plate to the motor vehicle, a cover, a device for attaching the cover to the substantially U-shaped plate, and a device for attaching the cover to the motor vehicle.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,419,607 discloses a tenting system for use in association with the bed of a pickup truck. U.S. Pat. No. 3,746,386 discloses a tent for use with automobiles having a rear door which opens upwardly about a horizontal hinge attached to its top edge. The tent has a prism shape including a pair of substantially parallel triangular ends joined on two sides by quadrangles with the third side being open. U.S. Pat. No. DES. 231,443 discloses a pop-up tent for pickup trucks. U.S. Pat. No. DES. 291,074 discloses another ornamental design for a truck tent.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,923,336 discloses a tote-a-room accessory for truck mounted camper units intended to be mounted to the rear of the camper as a permanent part thereof and to open relative to the camper to form an extension rearwardly of the back end of the camper to increase the living area and living capacity of the camper unit.